Who is your favorite writer and why?

It’s between James Frey and Janet Fitch. I love how they are both able to capture the real and rawness of situations. They don’t hold back when it comes to writing out the gruesome details. I love James Frey because I think he is an amazing writer. Aside from the whole “he lied the entire time” thing, I still find his writing to be completely captivating and believable. I know that he lied, or fabricated the truth, but as writers, you teach yourself how to do that very thing! I still applaud him for being able to convince millions of people that his story was real, even if it wasn’t. To me though, I don’t think he could write in that sort of way “A Million Little Pieces / My Friend Leonard” if there wasn’t a little smudge of the truth hidden somewhere within his work. As for Janet Fitch, even the start of her books are already so interesting and gravitating. I think that she is a really gifted writer for being able to tell two sides of a story within one book and not making you run around in circles. Her books are the type of books that have you wanting more after you’re done reading. She makes you feel as if you are the character, or if you are a small piece of the character. She puts you inside of her characters heads and she gives you your own choice of determining if you are on their side or not. I really admire her way of writing and the way she is able to tell a story and make you feel every type of emotion that her characters are going through. I really love both of these writers for some many reasons, but I love their guts and how neither of them hold back.

And as for poetry, I would say it’s torn between Pablo Neruda and Warsan Shire. A classic poet and an upcoming, if not already is right there, poet. Pablo, as most would agree, is a classic. I cannot read any of his work without getting swept off my feet and being taken back to a time that I never lived through, but can feel as if I did. The way he speaks of love is truly inspiring. To me, he is a strong root when it comes to writing about love for me. The way he is able to compare nature to a person and a person to a map is truly, truly breathtaking and something that I cannot grasp without falling deeper in love with his words. Although most of his works are classic sounding, I still am able to see the purity within his heart, and sometimes the rawness. I just really love, admire, and appreciate him. And for Warsan Shire, I simply cannot get enough of her words and her work. I always knew I loved poetry, but I never knew how much it could change me and make me feel certain feelings that I never thought possible. Warsan Shire is literally able to take your mind to a place that you will never go, and never though that you could imagine. For the good and the bad. Her poetry is able to show her readers what goes on in her life, and the lives of women that are treated so poorly. She writes about her family (now I am not sure if most is true, just going off of what I know/read) and she shows you the different aspects of growing up in a strict and dominating household. For me, Warsan Shire is a perfect example of a strong woman who seems to be created for a leadership role in showing not only young girls, but people in general, the harshness that women are put through in other countries. Warsan Shire really has opened my mind up to real and raw things that have happened and are happening, and she is still able to make my heart soft from the love and passion within her meaning. When I talk of Warsan Shire, I feel all jumbled because I can say so much, but I never know how to phrase it. I just cannot wait for her new book to come out because I am going to devour it as quickly and as much as I devoured, Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth.